Toronto tech is growing but relying on outside talent
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Toronto tech is growing but relying on outside talent
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Re: Toronto tech is growing but relying on outside talent
#2This is great to see. I visited Toronto for the first time last week and was amazed to see how much the city had to offer. It was so clean and the PATH pedestrian tunnels were the coolest thing I've ever seen.
I would have no qualms moving to Toronto from the United States to work if the right opportunity arose.
Re: Toronto tech is growing but relying on outside talent
#3This is great to see. I visited Toronto for the first time last week and was amazed to see how much the city had to offer. It was so clean and the PATH pedestrian tunnels were the coolest thing I've ever seen. I would have no qualms moving to Toronto from the United States to work if the right opportunity arose.
Even with the current compensation scene ? Software salaries seem to be really low everywhere except US. Even in other places its the american companies that pay well and the rest are bad.
Re: Toronto tech is growing but relying on outside talent
#4This is great to see. I visited Toronto for the first time last week and was amazed to see how much the city had to offer. It was so clean and the PATH pedestrian tunnels were the coolest thing I've ever seen. I would have no qualms moving to Toronto from the United States to work if the right opportunity arose.
Even with the current compensation scene ? Software salaries seem to be really low everywhere except US. Even in other places its the american companies that pay well and the rest are bad.
Exactly. A ton of Toronto devs I know have left for the US. The base salaries are higher, and the exchange rate only adds more.
Re: Toronto tech is growing but relying on outside talent
#5This article seems to implicitly characterize it as a positive, but the lower cost of business in the Toronto tech scene is subsidized by low wages for tech workers.
As the article states, the talent and diversity of education is top-notch, but the compensation is yet to match—Toronto tech workers need to demand higher wages.
Re: Toronto tech is growing but relying on outside talent
#6This article seems to implicitly characterize it as a positive, but the lower cost of business in the Toronto tech scene is subsidized by low wages for tech workers. As the article states, the talent and diversity of education is top-notch, but the compensation is yet to match—Toronto tech workers need to demand higher wages.
When you compare cost of living in downtown Toronto to the average developer wage there, it is pretty grim. You can make the same amount or more outside of Toronto (Mississauga/Oakville/Hamilton/etc.) while the cost of living is down significantly. You could live cheaply in Toronto, sure, if you like rats and cockroaches.
Re: Toronto tech is growing but relying on outside talent
#7This article seems to implicitly characterize it as a positive, but the lower cost of business in the Toronto tech scene is subsidized by low wages for tech workers. As the article states, the talent and diversity of education is top-notch, but the compensation is yet to match—Toronto tech workers need to demand higher wages.
When you compare cost of living in downtown Toronto to the average developer wage there, it is pretty grim. You can make the same amount or more outside of Toronto (Mississauga/Oakville/Hamilton/etc.) while the cost of living is down significantly. You could live cheaply in Toronto, sure, if you like rats and cockroaches.
I just had a flashback to living cheaply in San Francisco. I had a room in a Tenderloin SRO. I saw a cockroach in my room about once a week. Until my neighbor the hoarder moved. Every cockroach on the planet had been hiding under his stuff, and when he moved his stuff, they decided to come check out my place. Shudder...
Re: Toronto tech is growing but relying on outside talent
#8This is great to see. I visited Toronto for the first time last week and was amazed to see how much the city had to offer. It was so clean and the PATH pedestrian tunnels were the coolest thing I've ever seen. I would have no qualms moving to Toronto from the United States to work if the right opportunity arose.
Even with the current compensation scene ? Software salaries seem to be really low everywhere except US. Even in other places its the american companies that pay well and the rest are bad.
No. Personally, I would have a hard time turning down SF, Seattle, or NYC for Toronto; this is mostly because of salary.
I've never been to SF, but compared to the other two cities I named above, Toronto was much nicer imho. For a city of 2m+ people, it just felt incredibly clean and safe
Re: Toronto tech is growing but relying on outside talent
#9This article seems to implicitly characterize it as a positive, but the lower cost of business in the Toronto tech scene is subsidized by low wages for tech workers. As the article states, the talent and diversity of education is top-notch, but the compensation is yet to match—Toronto tech workers need to demand higher wages.
When you compare cost of living in downtown Toronto to the average developer wage there, it is pretty grim. You can make the same amount or more outside of Toronto (Mississauga/Oakville/Hamilton/etc.) while the cost of living is down significantly. You could live cheaply in Toronto, sure, if you like rats and cockroaches.
I recently made the move from Hamilton to Toronto. While I completely agree, the COL in Toronto is through the roof compared to Hamilton, I've found it to be worth it.
Toronto is a world-class city, Hamilton and Mississauga simply are not.
Keep in mind this anecdote is coming from a single male in his 20's, so I've found the nightlife, music scene, and social opportunities to make the high cost of living worth it.
Re: Toronto tech is growing but relying on outside talent
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
When you compare cost of living in downtown Toronto to the average developer wage there, it is pretty grim. You can make the same amount or more outside of Toronto (Mississauga/Oakville/Hamilton/etc.) while the cost of living is down significantly. You could live cheaply in Toronto, sure, if you like rats and cockroaches.
I recently made the move from Hamilton to Toronto. While I completely agree, the COL in Toronto is through the roof compared to Hamilton, I've found it to be worth it. Toronto is a world-class city, Hamilton and Mississauga simply are not. Keep in mind this anecdote is coming from a single male in his 20's, so I've found the nightlife, music scene, and social opportunities to make the high cost of living worth it.
I would further argue that tech jobs in Hamilton/Mississauga (or other satellite/burbs) don't compete with Toronto-proper in terms of compensation. Which leaves you with 1-2 hour commute each way just to try to save a bit on housing, and still not getting the benefit of properly compensated tech work.